Rubber heel



Dec. 26, 1944.v Y D, M` WELCH 2,366,166

RUBBER HEEL Filed DeC. 22, 1942 Patented Dee. 26, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT rol-FICE RUBBER HEEL Donald M. Welch, Winchester, Va.,` assignor to OSullivan Rubber Company, Inc., Winchester,

i Va., a corporation of Delawarev Y I I i A Application December .22,` 1942, serial 1`vo.469,833

` 2`Claims. (01.36959) This'inventionrelates to rubber heel construce .to provide long wearing qualities unless made` of high quality expensive rubber compositions and, even if such high quality materials are employed for the "body of the heel, improved heel life can be obtained ,byV employing a more highly vvearreL sistant material. for the portions `subjected to greatestwear. i

`In accordance with the present invention a ferred embodiments ofthe invention given in conjunction with theattaclied` drawing, of which Fig.` l is `a horizontal cross-section through a heel structure in accordancewith the present invention and taken on the line `I-,-I` of Fig. 2;`

Fig, 2 is a vertical section taken on the line Fig. 3 is a fragmentary bottom view of the heel oflFigs. 1 and 2 showing` the position of the projecting wearing portion;

Fig. 4 is a bottom view partly in' section along the line 4.-4 of Fig. 5 of `amodifled heel 'structureyand` rig. `5 is e vertieei section taken. on the une f Referring 'particularly toFigs,r l` to 3 of the drawing'the heel shown thereinlis provided with a body portion lo efresilient materiaI such es rubber heel having a highly resilient body portion is provided `with an integrally bonded Wearing portion having high resistance to abrasion. The

. .Wearing portion also preferably has suflicient re-` siliency to provide some cushioningA effect `and is supported on part` of the body of more resilient material so as to produce a longer wearing rubber heel having al1 of the desirable properties of conventional rubber heels made throughout of I resilient rubber` By such structure the body of the heelcan be made of less expensive rubber or rubber-like material having relatively 10W resistance to abrasion so long as it has the requisite resiliency.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved rubber heel construction in which a material havinghigh resistance to abrasion but relatively low resiliency is integrally combined with a resilient body portion` to produce a longer wearing rubber heel Another object of the invention is t0 provide an improved rubber heel constructionin which a body portion of high resiliency but low resistance to abrasion is protected from Wear` by ay wear-resistant portion cushioned upon the resilient ma-- terial of theV body portion. l i

A further objectof the invention is to provide a resilient rubber' heel with a less resilient wearing portion. of rubber which contains iibers or cords oriented to provide improved wearing qual.. ities While `still retaining substantial cushioning properties.

Other objects and advantages of the invention I will appear in the following description of preproperly compounded vulcanized rubber and a wearing portion I I. ,The wearing portion preferably comprises fibers bonded' together with a `continuous phase of vulcanized rubber so as` to provide `a long wearing material having substantial cushioning effect orresiliency. As shown in Figs 2` and 3 thewearing portion II preferably has a portion I 2 extending downwardly below the plane of the lower surface of the heel so that the wearing portion of thei heel may be subjected to` substantial wear before the lower surface of the` body portion of' the heelbecomes subjected to excessive abrasion. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the

wearresistant portion of the heel preferably eX- tends across the back of the heel and forwardly along the sides for a major portion of the length "of the heel and as shown in Fig. 2` the wear resistant portion II i preferably comprises` a part only of the `thickness of the heel soas to be cushioned by a portion l3 of themore resilient ma- 'teria-l of the; body I0 extending between the wear resistant `portion Hand the upper surface of the heel. Thestructurejof Figs. 1 to` 3 mayalso be constructed with a recess` `Ill adjacent the upper surface thereof having a central supporting col- `umn I5 to provide for greaterresiliency and also to save unnecessary material. The `heel structure may also have the usual nailing holes I 6 and metal washers II"`or\ any other suitable or conventional structure o-r method for attaching the Vheel toa shoe may beemployed and the heel may have a resilient body portion 20 having a part 2| extending between the wear resistant portion IS and the upper surface of the heel. The wear resistant portion E9 preferably occupies approximately the rear Vone half of the lower surface of the heel and is provided with an intermediate portion 22 extending downwardly below the plane of the lower surfaceI of the heel. 'Ihe heel shown in Figs. 4 and 5 may also be provided with a cushioning recess 23 having a supporting column 24 as well as the usual nailing holes ,25 and metal washers 26. As in the case of the heel shown in Figs. 1 to 3, any suitable ornamental design 21 may be impressed upon the lower surface of the heel.

The preferred material making up the wear resistant portion of the heel is a vulcanized rubber containing a substantial amount of cords or bers oriented so as to extend generally vertically of the heel. A particularly suitable material is that obtained from reclaiming tire carcasses or similar material lcontaining cords or fabric. In obtaining suitable material from tire carcasses the whole carcassesare shredded and then softened and plasticized by known reclaiming and devulcanizing agents to produce a plastic mass which is sheeted upon a rubber mill or calendar. Care is taken that the cordsor fibers are only partly disintegrated so thata substantial amount of fibers remain therein and are oriented longitudinally of thesheet during the sheeting operation. `A plurality of the sheets are then superposed and the resultant multi-ply structure com-- pressed and sheared transversely of the sheets and fibers therein to produce members of vulcanizable stock having the bers oriented perlpendicularly to the sheared surfaces.

While the reclaiming of vtire carcasses or similar materialabove described is a particularly.

good source of inexpensive relatively high quality reinforced rubber for fabricating the wear resistant portion of the heel, it will be apparent that similar materials may be producedby admixing cords or bers with properly compounded virgin rubber, reclaimed rubber or rubber-like v material such as sro-called synthetic rubber. Such materials may be milled and sheeted so as to orient the bers in the same manner as is Athe material reclaimed fromkftire carcasses'. been found that structures in which the cords or fibers extend` generally vertically of the heel produce the best wearing qualities combined with a substantial cushioningeffect. It will be further apparent, however, that structures in which the cords or vfibers are oriented in a horizontal plane or even structures which have no general orientation of the fibers may be employed with somewhat lesser eiciency. In any case the cords or fibers somewhat stiifen the vulcanized material and increase its resistance to abrasion while at the same time providing a rubber-like surface for the wearing lportion ofthe heel which has greater cushioning properties than. such materials as leather, wood or metal.

The body portion of the heel may be of any suitable rubber or rubber-like resilient material since it is not, in normal use, subjected to excessive wear. It has been found that even relatively lowquality inexpensive reclaimed rubberV may be employed, as such material may be com- It has` CII ` the wearing portion in the mold at the same rheel constructed Apounded to give excellent resiliency even though its wearing qualities are not adequate for the wearing portion of the heel. Thus the entire heel of the present invention may have excellent cushioning and wearing properties although made throughout of relatively inexpensive materials. It is of course possible to employ higher quality material for the body portion of the'heel, such as virgin Arubber `or high -quality synthetic rubbers. Also the material having. greater resistance to wear may extend throughout the thickness of the heel in cases where less resiliency is required.

In making the heel of the present invention, it is preferred to form the same in a single `molding operation by correctly positioning both the material of the body po-rtion of the heel and of time and simultaneously curing both portions of the heel`with heat and pressure. By this operation the wearing portion of the heel is `integrally bonded to the body portion to produce an integral rubber heel havingportions of different characteristics so as to provide a long wearing of relatively inexpensive materials.

The term rubber as employed in the claims is intended to be inclusive of natural virgin rubber, reclaimed rubber and rubber-like materials `such as Soecalled synthetic rubbers, for example buna S, buna N, Thiocols, neoprene, etc., having physical properties similar to those of rubber.

While I have disclosed the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is understood that the details thereof may be varied within the scope of. the following claims: l

Iclaim:

l. As an article of manufacture, a rubber heel having a body portion ofv resilient vulcanized rubber and a wearing portion of abrasion resistant material containing vulcanized rubber, said wearing portion comprising vulcanized rubber containing textile bers substantially all oriented so as to extend generally vertically ofsaid heel and being positioned adjacent the rear and rear to be cushioned by a portion of the resilient rub- L ber of the body portion of the heel.

2. As an article 'of manufacture, a rubber heel comprising a body portion of reclaimed rubber.

having relatively high resiliency but low resistance to abrasion and an` integrally bonded wearing portion positioned adjacent the rear of the heel and composed of` reclaimed rubber containing` fibers oriented so as to substantially all ex- I tend substantially vertically of the heel, said wearing portion having an extension providing a wearing surface positioned below the plane of the lower surface of the body portion of the heel and occupying approximately half the thickness of said kheel so as to be cushioned by the resilient material of said body portion. i l DONALD M. WELCH. 

